Favorite TONY acceptance speeches

[backwoodsbarbie]

Posted: 8/10/09 at 11:44pm

Does anybody have a personal favorite TONY acceptance speech of all time? I'm still trying to think of mine. I am a big fan of Idina Menzel's speech, especially the parts where she thanks Kristin Chenoweth and then thanks her mom for taking her to see Dreamgirls and Annie.

[CSonBroadway]

Posted: 8/10/09 at 11:46pm

I loved Olivo's this year. Very true and touching.

And how could someone not of loved Lin's rap speech last year??

Updated On: 8/10/09 at 11:46 PM

[BwayTday]

Posted: 8/10/09 at 11:47pm

^^beat me too it CSon, Karen's was touching

[byebyebaby12]

Posted: 8/10/09 at 11:47pm

Laura Benanti's was fabulous.

[CSonBroadway]

Posted: 8/10/09 at 11:49pm

Benanti was so cute when she did her speech.

Lets not talk about the Billys speech this year- what a hot mess.

[backwoodsbarbie]

Posted: 8/10/09 at 11:51pm

TRUTH....those Billy's were a hot disaster. Karen's was also very touching and left tears in my eyes.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 8/10/09 at 11:54pm

In my mind, all of those speeches were very generic weepy speeches. The most genuine speech in my mind from the past few years is Deanna Dunagan's speech for August.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 8/10/09 at 11:58pm

I loved Mark Rylance and Geoffrey Rush's. and Patti LuPone's, natch.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 8/10/09 at 11:59pm

Phylicia Rashad, for the shear entertainment of watching and listening to Queen Phylicia (who deserved the award that year, by the way) accept the Tony.

[legally_popular]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 12:09am

I have to say Laura Benanti and Karen Olivo as well. They're both two of my favorite perfomers obviously. They both seemed geniunely surprised and touched. Their emotion brought tears to my eyes.

Oh come on, I thought the Billys were adorable! When they each mentioned their families I was cracking up.

And what about Patti's win for Gypsy - "SHUT UP, IT'S BEEN 30 YEARS!!!"

[Lumen2]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 12:29am

Alice Ripley's three minutes of crazy will be hard to forget.

But, Sondheim's acceptance speech for his second Tony will always make me smile. Updated On: 8/11/09 at 12:29 AM

[little_sally]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 12:33am

Greg Jbara's!

[BroadwayKing09]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 12:34am

Karen Olivo. I loved her speech!

[beingalive123]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 2:11am

i appreciated raul esparza's speech for when he won company, if it existed *sigh*

although his drama desk acceptance speech was quite good

[Select a Member Name]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 3:48am

Lin-Manuel Miranda, Patti LuPone, Alice Ripley, and Mark Rylance. Awesome.

[Shannon Bo Dannon]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 3:50am

Lin-Manuel Miranda's speech is my favorite, hands down.

[TheActr97J]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 5:06am

Michael Jeter's for 'Grand Hotel'. Hands down. Youtube it!

[Radioactiveduck]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 5:41am

Frank Lengella, Geoffrey Rush.

Karen Olivio's this year has been said, but it was great.

I really disliked Alice Ripley's...it was like watching Diana accept the award, and then she did the typical "I have a BFA, bitches" thing that BFA people do. Also, Patti Lupone's last one bordered on just flat out rude...sorry that you don't get to win every year that you're nominated, just be thankful for the gifts and the opportunities you've been given in your lifetime.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 6:22am

Michael Jeter's for 'Grand Hotel'.

I take back my answers. you win.

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 8:10am

Another vote for Michael Jeter, and here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYIT4JYJSeQ

[Leia947]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 9:17am

I like Angela Lansbury's this year. She seemed very moved and touched to have won again. Very classy lady.

[TulitaPepsi]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 9:43am

Rashad's campy 'Great Lady of The Thee-Ay-Tah' acceptance speech: put-on elegance and class.

Audra's acceptance speech the same year: genuine elegance and class.

DHP's equally classy acceptance speech - the only one that year to praise the other nominees before thanking anyone.

(Love the quick shot of Karen & Debra wreathed in smiles)

DHP

Updated On: 8/11/09 at 09:43 AM

[homeimp]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 10:13am

Yes, three cheers for Michael Jeter. Also Karen Olivo, although she loses points for her attendance record afterwards. I actually loved the 3 Billys. Thank goodness for David jumping in to get the ball rolling, but once they got started they thanked everybody who needed to be thanked, including the people most important to each of them. I thought they did a good job, especially considering their age and the occasion. I would love to have seen a video of the 3 Billys winning at the Olivier awards in the West End to see if they did any better, but there doesn't seem to be one.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 10:55am

Lumen2, I went to search for Sondheim's 2nd Tony speech and it made me laugh. his speech before that was incredibly classy and humble, too.

I also thought Mary Louise Wilson's speech was just hysterical.

[sanda]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 11:08am

Lin-Manuel Miranda